Watch 12 Years a Slave

12 Years a Slave is a motion picture starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Paul Giamatti, Brad Pitt and Alfre Woodard. The film is directed by famous Hollywood personality Steve McQueen and was released in November of 2013. Chiwetel Ejiofor plays the role of Solomon Northrup, who was a historical figure that lived during the era of slavery. Northrup was born a free black man but was kidnapped in Washington D.C. in 1841. He was forced into slavery and spent twelve years of his life regaining his freedom. The film documents his struggles during his twelve years being held as a captive on a plantation.

12 Years a Slave has received good reviews from critics who viewed the film at private screenings before its expected release date. Many claim that the film is authentic and true to the original story and times that these events had taken place. This film is expected to be a big contender for an Oscar nomination in 2014.

It has been a big year for "12 Years a Slave" actress Lupita Nyong'o. Not only did she win an Oscar for best supporting actress, and sign a deal with cosmestic company Lancome to become their first black ambassador, now she has been honored by People magazine, who are naming Nyong'o their "Most Beautiful Person" for 2014.
Also making the Beautiful list are Amber Heard, Keri Russell, Pink, Jennifer Lawrence, Kerry Washington, and Mindy Kaling, among others.
Nyong'o joins a fairly short list of back cover models - Halle Berry was the first, in 2003, not followed by Beyonce until 2012.

On Thursday, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced its nominations for the 71st Golden Globe Awards, which will be delivered at the awards show in January. Many of the nominations were expected, but a notable snub was the biggest news of the announcement.
The most-nominated films were "12 Years a Slave" and "American Hustle," each of which received seven nominations, including a nod for Best Picture in each case. Also nominated for Best Picture (drama) were "Gravity," "Captain Phillips," "Philomena" and "Rush," and "Her," "Nebraska," "Inside Llewyn Davis" and "The Wolf of Wall Street" got nominations for Best Picture (musical or comedy).